Ideal Price
by No one and Nobody
Summary: RoyxRiza. Roy goes on a date- but NOT with her. A oneshot about what our favorite Colonel's REALLY thinking when he's out with that "other girl". R&R pretty please.


**Disclaimer: I don't own FMA, or Roy and Riza. But I do own the OC character. Ugh, I wish I didn't, though.**

**Try to enjoy this one, okay? ;) I edited it a bit (more like, cleaned it up) and hopefully it's a little better.  
**

**Ideal Price**

* * *

It was a chance encounter when he met Lauren.

But it hadn't been fate or destiny or any of that stuff.

There he was, standing in line at the grocery with a packet of mints, a toothbrush, a candy bar and five cups of instant noodles. He had been standing there for approximately seven minutes. He was just about to empty out his basket onto the counter when the lady in front of him whipped around and looked at him with charmingly apologetic eyes. "Do you have a twenty on you?" she asked.

The first thing he noticed was just that- her eyes. They were something like brownish- olive green, but darker. Not quite that exact shade of perfect captivating amber he liked, but close- so he threw on a smile for her. "Today's your lucky day." he said, and inserted a crumpled-up twenty dollar bill into her hand... along with a scrap of paper with his number on it.

"Thank-" she stopped, noticing the little bonus. She laughed. "Alright, alright. It's the _least_ I can do. I guess I'll call you tonight, Mr...?"

"Mustang." he said. "But please, call me Roy."

"Lauren." she said, extending her hand. He took it and shook it- it was flawlessly smooth and soft, just like a woman's hand should be.

But not exactly what he looked for. Slightly calloused and scarred hands were signs of ambition and hard work, and the experience of trials.

Nevertheless, he kept his trademark smirk on- and felt it widen slightly when he found he received a scrap of paper in return.

Too, too easy.

* * *

On the date itself, he waited at the bar for half an hour before she arrived.

Provided, she looked just as he had expected- make-up, jewelry, low-cut dress that stopped a couple of inches above the knee... but honestly? He would've preferred it if she came in early or on-the-dot, even if she ended up wearing something simple.

"Sorry to keep you waiting." she gushed.

"Not at all. I'd much rather see you late and looking as lovely as this."

She blushed and took a seat next to him. She had an adorable blush, but he'd liked a woman who knew how to keep her composure under perfect control.

They ordered their drinks. He had alcohol, of course.

"Just a soda for me." she said.

At this, his eyes lit up, but he quickly recovered. "You sure?"

"Yeah."

"Come on, just a couple?"

"Well..." she said, shifting uncomfortably in her seet. Her brownish-olive-green eyes met his, and he looked at her intently. "Alright."

"Great! One for the lady." he told the bartender. "I appreciate it." he grinned at her.

What a disappointment. For a second there he thought she'd actually stick to her soda.

Honestly, they got easier and easier.

"So, I take it you're a soldier?" she asked, gesturing to his uniform. He made sure he put it on with specific dates. If he took the girl to be the type to like a man in uniform, he'd gladly oblige. "Colonel Mustang. Flame Alchemist." he smirked. "Glad you noticed."

"THE Flame Alchemist? Hey, I've heard about you!"

He grinned. "Oh, have you?"

"Yeah! I didn't expect you to be so young! Wow, this is so cool. I've never went out with a Colonel before." she giggled- was she already tipsy?

"You like the title? I'm glad." he said. Oh, great. Another one that liked to look at ranks with starry eyes. There weren't any decent, down-to-earth, _realistic_ women anymore.

It wasn't long before their conversation began to bore him. Eventually he ended up tuning her out and nodding absent-mindedly. He let his eyes wander. She was twirling her hair. Chocolate brown. He'd dated a lot of those before, but in reality, he preferred blondes.

He smoothly tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "You have the most beautiful hair." he said. He waited for her to blush and mutter a thank you before he cupped her face in his hands and kissed her, just like that.

So that was one example of how Roy Mustang found a fairly pretty girl, got her on a date, took her to a nice, crowded bar, got her drunk, and went in for the kill.

He wasn't even sure why he did it. Alright, he liked women. They were nice to look at, nice to touch and they were nice to have. Basically, that was it with everyone he'd ever had a date with. But despite how far the description goes- Roy knew he wasn't just a heartless, sexist bastard.

Unlike some of the other professional players out there, he knew that the time would come when he'd go out with someone he'd really like, and he knew exactly how he'd treat her. He wouldn't just find her on the street- he'd get to know every excruciating detail about her, like her principles, her nervous habits, her likes and dislikes- everything. And she wouldn't be easy. She'd be difficult and terribly complicated and awfully hard to get, and that would be just perfect. And he wouldn't just touch her so readily like he did the others. In fact, he'd be afraid to touch her because he'd be afraid to mess up anything they had. He'd be afraid to rush into things and make a mistake.

Because he respected her.

Because she wasn't cheap. Because she came at a price. Because she was valuable.

Roy sighed as he pondered these things, sitting behind his desk. He yawned.

"Another all-nighter _assignment_?" First Lieutenant Hawkeye said, raising an eyebrow.

Oh, and his woman would speak in metaphors, too.

Roy waved it off dismissively. "Why worry about my lack of sleep, Lieutenant?"

"Your health is very important, sir."

"Oh, really?" he said lazily, leaning back in his chair. "I wouldn't put much emphasis on it."

There was a brief pause as his charcoal eyes clashed with her perfect, captivating, amber ones, and he rediscovered how much depth was hidden there. "I would." she said, before returning her eyes to her files and tidying up her desk.

And then it dawned on him that maybe he wouldn't have to wait so long for his perfect girl, after all.

* * *

**A/N- My next, and hopefully better attempt at a RoyxRiza fic. Slightly edited. Please tell me how it went. Painful or, um, not. :0 **

**Review please!**


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